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UMaine's clean snowmobile runs on (a lot of) natural gas
Take a look at what these mechanical engineering students from the University of Maine say is the only natural gas-powered snowmobile in the US. Why make all these changes to what used to be a stock Arctic Cat XF1100? To compete in the Society of Automotive Engineers Clean Snowmobile Challenge, which was founded to create machines capable of running in Yellowstone Natural Park where rules about noise and emissions keep gas snowmobiles out. Changing the fuel source from gasoline to natural gas not only meant swapping out the gas tank, but also the injectors inside the motor. As you can see in the video after the break, last year's team got the beast running, but this year students are working on improving the handling and tuning.
Eco-Fueler Roadster suffers identity crisis at 70 mpg
If you told us a few days ago you were holding out for that hot-rod aesthetic before jumped into the eco-car game, we might've questioned your sanity as well as your taste -- but now we'll just question the latter. Ah, we're just kidding guys! We suppose this new Eco-Fueler American Roadster does have a certain cutesy, almost mutant charm, and that 70 mpg figure is hard to argue with. The new three-wheeler sweetens the deal by running compressed natural gas, which goes for around 62 cents a gallon, and works out to about a penny a mile. Speed tops out at 120mph, and the Roadster has a sound system, heater and a hard-top for all the comforts of home. Production starts next month, and Eco-Fueler hopes to build about 150 of these a month for the $20,000-ish asking price.[Via AutoblogGreen]
